by S. C. Stokes
Weapons were being drawn. Kasey glanced at the mirror mounted along the wall and realized that the escorts had both drawn their weapons. The barrel of their pistols rested mere inches behind hers and Sanders’ heads.
I guess they’re armed, after all.
Kasey shifted a little, angling herself just the faintest bit to try and position herself to take the man behind her.
Sanders slowly reached across and placed his hand on hers, warning her not to move.
He looked at Hades. "You may not know us, but that's something we can fix. This doesn't need to end poorly, Hades. We have offered you a potentially lucrative business proposition that also facilitates you removing your greatest nemesis. If the only obstacle between you accepting it is getting to know each other a little better, why don't we break open a bottle and fix that problem right now?”
Hades’ eyes narrowed on Sanders. “That's not how it works around here. We don't know you. If you want to do business in the underworld, and more particularly, if you want to do business with me, the only way we are going to trust you is if you put your money where your mouth is. If you have the stones to step into the cage, then we have a deal.”
Kasey gripped the arms of her chair. They were caught between a rock and a hard place. Even if they could overpower the two men who had them dead to rights, they still had Hades in front of them and who knew how many other security personnel waiting in the rooms beyond. Besides, they needed Hades help. Fighting their way out wasn’t going to help, so Kasey suppressed her instincts and remained in the chair.
Sanders nodded. “Very well. I accept your terms, I’ll get into the ring, and you’ll handle my contract."
Kasey whipped around to face him. He was a competent wizard, but he was no brawler. It would be a bloodbath.
Hade’s mouth creased up into a grin. “Excellent. I was just wondering who would step into the arena next. We’ve had a shortage of challengers lately. Dozer is going to be thrilled."
Sanders shrank visibly. He had to go toe to toe with the maniac that had just mauled another man in front of their eyes.
Kasey was beginning to regret the foray into the underworld.
Hades’ companion let out a sneer.
"Not him, my dear,” she said. “Dozer has just eaten his dinner, so why not give him some dessert?” She pointed at Kasey. “Put her in the cage. Let’s throw princess to the lion and see what happens."
Kasey met her gaze. Her angry brown eyes bored back into Kasey’s soul.
She had seen that look before. Her eyes were full of murder.
Chapter Ten
Worried creases formed above Sanders’ brow. She could understand his feelings. She was not thrilled about the prospect of stepping into the cage with the gargantuan brute.
Sanders rose to his feet. “You can name your price, but you can’t pick which of us is to pay it. I’ll not have you throwing my wife to the wolves just to satisfy your pet’s petty jealousy.”
Hades’ guard placed his hands on Sanders’ shoulders and forced him back into his seat.
“I will do as I please. Remember, if you die down here, no one will ever find your body,” Hades replied. “You talk a big game, going after the Arcane Counselor. I’m yet to be convinced you aren’t one of his stooges. The cage separates the wheat from the chaff.”
Kasey watched as Sanders struggled against the man’s hands on his shoulders. Things were deteriorating quickly. She had no idea what she had done to earn the ire of Hades’ pet, but it mattered little. The only way forward was into the cage.
“I’ll do it,” Kasey muttered. “If you insist on this charade, I’ll do it, but you better keep your word. If I make it out of that cage and you renege on our agreement, I will come for you.” She clenched her fists.
“Your wife has spirit, Ben, I’ll give her that.” Hades laughed. “I’ll make you a deal, Jen. You make it out of the pit at all, I’ll give you a discount. You don’t even have to win, you just have to keep your pulse.” He extended his hand. “Do we have an accord?”
Kasey rose to her feet and clasped his hand. “We do. Let’s get on with it.”
Hades’ pet giggled with giddy delight. “Dozer’s going to have fun with you.”
“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Kasey replied.
Hades stood and headed for the door. “If you are in such a hurry, let’s get on with it. I imagine the crowd is growing restless with the wait, anyway.”
Flanked by the escorts, Sanders and Kasey left the office. Hades led the way out of the office and through the club. As he stepped out of Hell and into the underworld arena, the crowd parted around him.
Hades touched his hand to his throat and muttered an incantation. Kasey couldn't quite make out the words over the din but the otherworldly glow at his fingertips was difficult to ignore.
“Ladies and gentlemen, denizens of the underworld. It is I, Hades. For your viewing pleasure, I have prepared a treat. Two guests have meandered into our midst, seeking a deal with the Devil.”
The crowd roared its approval.
Hades raised his hand for silence. “But we won’t treat with any old pedestrian who makes their way into our den. To prove their worth, they will enter the cage.”
“Dozer, Dozer, Dozer,” the crowd chanted.
Hades wound his way through the tangle of razor wire and up the steel steps to the door of the cage. Reaching out, he clasped the spindle wheel affixed to the gate. As he turned the wheel, two pieces of steel retracted, unlocking the gate. The steel bars popped free, and the gate swung open.
Hades gestured at the open portal. “Come now. You don’t want to keep Dozer waiting.”
Sanders followed Kasey through the wire to the cage. Dozer waited, flexing eagerly for the raucous crowd.
“You don’t have to do this. We can find another way,” he whispered.
“No, there’s no going back now. We have too much at stake. If we have to go through that brute to get it done, so be it.”
“Don’t let him get his hands on you, Kasey. He’ll break you in half.”
“He will try,” Kasey whispered. “I’ll see he lives to regret it.”
She stepped into the cage, and the gate clicked shut. The heavy grinding of steel against steel told her the spindle wheel had locked into place.
She was trapped. Kasey looked to Sanders, who stood by the cage, his brow furrowed with concern.
Hades descended the stairs. As the crowd stared in silent anticipation, Kasey watched Hades approach Sanders.
“I have to admire her spirit,” Hades said. “I hope there is something left of it when Dozer is done with her.”
Sanders jammed his sweaty palms into his pockets. “I’m more concerned about your man, Dozer. My wife has been known to lose her temper on occasion.”
“Princess?” Hades asked. “Please, she doesn’t stand a chance. Dozer is the finest brawler we have ever seen.”
“Perhaps you should get out more,” Sanders replied. “She killed Danilo Lelac in single combat.”
“The Golden Wolf?” Hades asked, his eyes bulging with incredulity.
“One and the same.”
“Why do I get the feeling I have been deceived?” Hades replied.
“It is you who insisted on this spectacle,” Sanders said.
“Very well, ” Hades raised his hand back to his throat. “Underworld, are you ready?”
The cheers were deafening.
“As always, the rules of the cage are simple. No magic, your body is your only weapon. Use it how you will. Last man”—Hades looked at Kasey—“or woman standing—wins!”
The crowd bellowed their approval. "Dozer, Dozer, Dozer."
Dozer pushed himself off the wall of the cage and ambled into the center of the confined space. He sized Kasey up and down and let out a snort. Raising his fists, he charged straight at her.
He was going for the quick win. With such an advantage of size, his best hope was to knock her out swiftly before he tired too much.
Kasey had no intention of letting him play his game. As he closed in, Kasey nimbly sidestepped him. She turned as he passed and punched him in the kidneys.
If Dozer felt it, he didn't register the blow. He simply whirled about to face her.
He closed in again and threw a right punch at Kasey's face. Kasey ducked under the blow and delivered one of her own to his ribs before dancing back out of his reach.
As he came at her again, she stepped into him and delivered a thunderous right kick straight to his chest. The kick halted his advance. The muscles in his face contracted in pain as the wind was forced from his lungs. He staggered for a step as he fought to recover his breath.
So, you can be hurt.
Seizing the advantage, Kasey threw a left jab toward Dozer’s face. As his hands came up to block the maneuver, she pulled back her fake jab and drove another solid right kick into Dozer’s exposed chest.
He let out a bellow of rage and lunged at her. His murderous hay maker passed over her head but still he kept coming. Dropping his shoulder, he slammed into her. She dropped to the mat.
Dozer raised both his arms in triumph. The crowd erupted into cheers.
Kasey rolled onto her front and pushed herself to her feet.
Dozer turned to face her, but Kasey was already closing the distance. She rained a series of blows at his chest. The first connected, slipping past Dozer’s guard but the rest deflected harmlessly off his raised arms. As Kasey backed away, Dozer swung a wild backhand at her. The blow clipped her shoulder, and her muscles seized in protest.
If it had connected more solidly, she would have been picking herself up off the mat once more.
I need to slow it down. I have to tire him out.
Dozer closed with her time and time again, but Kasey just continued circling the cage, dancing back out of his reach.
The crowd booed, but Kasey didn't care. Dozer’s energy was starting to wane. He may have been built like a brick wall but he moved like one too. He wouldn't be able to keep up with her forever.
Dozer lunged to his right, cutting off her movement and forcing her back toward the edge of the cage. She tried to back up, but he was already on top of her. He drove home his thunderous punches. Kasey blocked with her arms and dodged where she had room but each hit that connected sent jarring pains shooting through her body.
Her arms felt like one giant bruise that throbbed with each beat of her racing heart. She needed room to breathe, but Dozer wasn't relenting. She stepped past his next punch, and then put everything she could into a solid uppercut straight to Dozer's chin.
His head jerked back, but he simply shrugged it off. He grabbed her by the shoulders and drove her into the corner of the cage.
Kasey knew his plan was to pin her where she couldn't move and then bludgeon her into submission. He had all the subtlety of a rampaging bull.
As she was thrown towards the corner of the cage, she moved in the only direction she had available: up. She slammed the sole of her shoe against the cage wall, then brought up her other leg against the opposite wall. She pushed off, throwing herself back into Dozer.
He stumbled off balance. She swung around and drove her right fist into his already battered jaw.
His head snapped around like a paper plane caught in a cyclone. He tried to steady his feet beneath him, but it was no good. He went down like a sack of bricks.
The crowd murmured in disbelief as their champion hit the mat.
Kasey circled Dozer as he lay face down on the mat.
“Hit him!” Sanders shouted over the din. “This isn’t a fair fight.”
Kasey approached Dozer, but it was too late.
The burly fighter was already pushing himself to his feet.
As he staggered, Kasey closed and delivered another punishing right kick to his stomach. He raised his head and grinned, grabbing her leg. His left arm caught her behind her knee as his right arm reached under her armpit. With a speed that defied belief, he scooped Kasey off her feet, and spinning, hurled her across the cage.
Kasey’s back collided with the steel bars. She fell to the mat in a heap.
She could see the bright lights obscuring her vision. She hurt all over.
Dozer leered at her. “How’s that, princess?”
“People better stop calling me that.” Kasey panted as she rolled onto her side and swept her leg around.
Her kick caught Dozer behind the knee and stripped his legs from under him. As he crumpled to the floor, she regained her feet. Looming over him, she kicked him in the ribs.
The crowd roared its approval as Dozer grunted in pain.
Kasey kicked him again, but Dozer batted her leg away with enough force she stumbled. Before she caught her balance, he was back on his feet and bearing down on her.
He was red in the face and panting for air but Kasey had no intention of underestimating him again.
As he threw his next jab, Kasey ducked to the right and drove three lightning quick blows into his ribs. On the third, Kasey heard his rib crack. She smiled; that was going to hurt in the morning.
Before she could back away, he grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her close. Wrapping his arms around her, he yanked her off her feet.
Kasey struggled against the vice-like grip but couldn’t get any purchase. Her arms were pinned at her side as he crushed the life out of her.
She could feel Dozer’s fetid breath against her neck as his biceps crushed her against his chest. The air escaped her lungs, and she couldn’t breathe.
She wrapped her arms around Dozer, managing to gain enough of a hold to steady herself. In desperation, she slammed her knee straight into his groin.
He grunted in pain but didn’t relent. Kasey felt her world going black.
Drawing on the last of her strength, she drew back and drove her knee home again. This time, Dozer lost his grip, and she slipped free.
She landed on her feet in a crouch. Without hesitation, she exploded upward, thumping her head back into Dozer’s chin.
He staggered backward away from her as he fought to regain his composure.
Advancing on him, Kasey raised her fists. Dozer threw a clumsy right hook. It was a desperate attempt to buy himself time to recover. Kasey ducked under the blow, and as she stepped past him, she delivered a kick to his right knee cap. He sank under his own weight.
The crowd gasped as their champion fell to his knees. Kasey circled him warily.
Kasey looked at Hades. His eyes were wide, but the lord of the underworld was not intervening. He simply watched impassively. Dozer was not on his feet, but he wasn’t unconscious either.
“No half measures,” Kasey told herself.
Stepping toward Dozer, she whipped her right leg around in a devastating round house. The blow connected with his head. His eyes registered the shock as he snapped sideways. He toppled to the mat like a tree being felled. The sound of him striking the cage’s floor carried through the underground chamber.
The crowd roared their approval. Kasey circled the fallen fighter. There was no sign of movement. His eyes were closed, and the only motion was the gradual rising and falling of his chest as his ragged breathing persisted.
He was out cold.
Kasey raised her fists in triumph.
Hades approached the cage. With two hands, he gripped the wheel and released the cage’s locking mechanism. The steel beams retracted and rolled back into place. The steel door swung outward and Kasey stepped out of the cage.
Hades grabbed her arm and raised it high.
The crowd roared.
“Denizens of the underworld, our new champion!”
Kasey cocked her head toward Dozer. “You better honor our agreement, Hades, or that will be you.”
Hades released her wrist. “I’m a man of my word, Jen. We’ll take the contract. Now it’s just the small matter of settling the price.”
"You can talk to him for that," Kasey replied, nodding at Sanders as she descended the stairs. As she passed Hade
s’ pet, she cracked a grin. "Shame it wasn’t you in there. That would have been a whole lot more fun."
Before the woman could respond, Kasey shouldered past her.
A flurry of motion caught her attention. She turned to find herself staring down the barrel of a handgun. Hades’ pet glowered menacingly as she waved the pistol in Kasey's face. Hades’ wide-eyed countenance told Kasey that he wasn't complicit.
"Hades, get your woman under control," Kasey called.
"I could end you right here," The woman sneered.
"You could try," Sanders called, "but if you pull that trigger, everyone in this room dies."
Kasey felt the familiar thrum of arcane energy surging through the room. Turning, she found Sanders’ entire frame glowing. White hot light pulsed outward from him.
Hades stared at Sanders.
Kasey glanced back at the pet who was squinting as she struggled against the glare.
"I'm warning you, Hades,” Sanders said. “You have three seconds to get that gun out of my wife's face or your precious underworld is going to be remodeled. I’ll bring the city down on all of us, I swear!"
Hades grabbed the pistol and yanked it out of his pet’s grip. After sliding it back into its holster, he raised his finger to censure her. "Don't ever draw a weapon on our guests again. Normally I find your impetuosity delightful, but today you could get us all killed."
As Hades fastened the holster over his pistol’s grip, Sanders gradually released the energy he had been building and storing, allowing it to harmlessly dissipate into the air.
"I believe all that is left to discuss is the price," Sanders said as the last of his energy faded.
Hades strode over to where Sanders waited. "The price is one million. Cash. We'll send a team where and when you ask. I’m sure you’ll agree, one man just won't do."
Sanders nodded. "I'll have the cash delivered tomorrow. Have a phone waiting for us, we'll call when we are ready. I'd say it's been a pleasure, but I'd be lying."
Hades leaned closer, so that no one else but Kasey could overhear him. "If I were to cast a revelation spell right now, who would I find standing before me? Not Ben Kaswell, of that I am sure."
